Bill Would Allow The Consumer Product Safety Commission to Provide Support for Public Safety Education and Installment of Safe and Reliable Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Washington, DC – As winter sets in, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced legislation to help prevent deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning. The Nicholas and Zachary Burt Memorial Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act would allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to provide support for public safety education and to encourage installment of safe and reliable carbon monoxide detectors.
“Pennsylvania has seen far too many accidental deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning,” Senator Casey said. “This is a commonsense step that will help protect Pennsylvania families through increased awareness and the increased availability of monitors.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are over 400 deaths and 20,000 emergency room visits as a result of CO poisoning each year and the highest percentage of CO exposures occurs during the winter months of December, January, and February.
Bill Summary
- Acknowledges the value of CO alarm and detection devices by promoting their purchase and installation in residential homes and dwellings nationwide.
- Encourages states to require residential CO detection devices and establishes a federal grant program in the amount of $10M total over a period of five years to provide assistance to these states to carry out a CO education program. The grants would help pay for the development of training materials and for buying and installing alarms in schools and the homes of low-income and elderly people.
- Places importance on effective devices that meet rigorous safety standards. Consumers should have the confidence that their properly installed and maintained CO alarm will function appropriately in the presence of dangerous CO levels, while avoiding unwanted nuisance alarming that may otherwise cause them to doubt the accuracy of the alarm.
- Defines approved devices for the purposes of this bill as those compliant with the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 2034 and UL 2075. These voluntary performance standards are recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
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